Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Cotton (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Cotton. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Cotton is located in Kalkaska County.
To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kalkaska County: Antrim, Crawford, Grand Traverse, Missaukee, Otsego, Roscommon & Wexford.
Below are the counties that are near Cotton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cotton:
- Kalkaska County (The home county of Cotton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Sigma
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sigma is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigma
- Angling
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Angling is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angling
- Spencer
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Spencer is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Kalkaska
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lodi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lodi is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Sharon ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sharon is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Sharon has also been known as:
- Big Oley
- Jam One
- Westwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- Deibert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deibert is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deibert
- South Boardman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fletcher
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fletcher is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Barker Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
- Rapid City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Antrim County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Mancelona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wetzel ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wetzel is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetzel
- Wetzel has also been known as:
- Wetzell
- Alden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alba
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Clam Lake ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
- Bellaire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Elk Rapids
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kewadin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Finkton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Finkton is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finkton
- Central Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Charlevoix County
- Goo ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Goo is located in Charlevoix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goo
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- McIntyre Landing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- McIntyre Landing is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre Landing
- Rasmus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Rasmus is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rasmus
- Deward ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Deward is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deward
- Frederic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Grayling
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Skyline Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Skyline Village is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Village
- Pere Cheney ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pere Cheney is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pere Cheney
- Pere Cheney has also been known as:
- Center Plains
- Cheney
- Bucks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bucks is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks
- Deerheart Valley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Deerheart Valley is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerheart Valley
- Grand Traverse County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Tunk ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Tunk is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunk
- Mabel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Williamsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Angel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Angel is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Angel has also been known as:
- Angel Station
- Angell Station
- Walton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Walton is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton
- Walton has also been known as:
- Walton Junction
- Devils Elbow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Devils Elbow is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
- Acme
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Mayfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mayfield is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Summit City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Summit City is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
- Kingsley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mapleton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mapleton is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
- Old Mission
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Leelanau County
- Greilickville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Greilickville is located in Leelanau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greilickville
- Missaukee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Moorestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Moorestown is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorestown
- Stratford ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stratford is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
- Stittsville ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Stittsville is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stittsville
- Cutcheon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cutcheon is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutcheon
- Star City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Star City is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Lake City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Merritt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jennings
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jennings is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings
- Otsego County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Waters
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Arbutus Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Arbutus Beach is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbutus Beach
- Lower Chub Landing ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lower Chub Landing is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Chub Landing
- Pearll City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pearll City is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearll City
- Elmira
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Gaylord
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hallock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hallock is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallock
- Roscommon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Tent City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tent City is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tent City
- Higgins Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hillcrest
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hillcrest is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
- Roscommon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Nellsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Nellsville is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nellsville
- Houghton Lake Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Houghton Lake Heights is located in Roscommon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houghton Lake Heights
- Houghton Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wexford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Baxter
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Baxter is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Manton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bond's Mills ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bond's Mills is located in Wexford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond's Mills
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cotton, see our County-by-County Page for Cotton.
Cemeteries Near Cotton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cotton.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Cotton - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cotton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Excelsior Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Oliver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lodi Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cold Spring Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Maplegrove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Garfield Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Westwood Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Boardman Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Deibert Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clearwater Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Anthony's Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (100 more) ...
- St. Mary Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chapman Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery (North)
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find Cotton in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cotton.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cotton, with the one closest to Cotton listed first.
- Kalkaska
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lodi
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lodi is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Leetsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leetsville is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leetsville
- Sharon ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sharon is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Sharon has also been known as:
- Big Oley
- Jam One
- Crofton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Crofton is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crofton
- Westwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Westwood is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
- South Boardman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fletcher
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fletcher is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Antrim
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Antrim is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antrim
- Mancelona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Barker Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
- Frederic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pioneer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pioneer is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
- Moorestown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Moorestown is located in Missaukee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorestown
- Grayling
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cotton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cotton.
Newspapers Published in Cotton ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cotton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cotton, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cotton.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Cotton:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Kalkaska County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Antrim County
- Charlevoix County
- Crawford County
- Grand Traverse County
- Leelanau County
- Missaukee County
- Otsego County
- Roscommon County
- Wexford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Cotton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cotton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |